forever young
by taylor.roliat
Summary: Victoria,a teenage girl who lives in New Jersey in the 1800's, her parents want her to fall in love with the new french families son but she doesn't. She falls for a boy named henry but finds out he's not like anyone else she ever met, he's immortal.
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1-The Garden

''Tap, tap, tap'', someone was knocking on the door I got up, anything to get me out of my lessons. Angelique stopped me "Miss, please let me", Angelique was a very kind woman she wasn't very young though, she had gray hair and wore tiny spectacles, and I fake bun that she pinned to her hair, I'd told her again and again she didn't have to call me miss, I just smiled and motioned me arm towards the door, I walked back to the table where my french novel, Madame Bovary lay. I watched as Angelique opened the doors after a second series of knocks on the door. The town messenger was standing there holding an envelope out to her, she took it and looked at the back then went upstairs with it most likely to take it to my mother, who was at the moment being fitted for a new dress. She would be having tea with the Mrs. Chateau next week. Mrs. Chateau had just moved to the small town of Berkshire, New Jersey with her family, they came from France, it made me wonder why they would want to come to this small town when they lived there but a lot of people just thought of America as the land of opportunities, the land of freedom. About twenty minutes later my mother came down the stairs with an excited smile on her face. "Victoria, I need to talk to you", she had the envelope in her hand , "Yes, mother?","This came today, it's an invitation there's going to be a ball at the town hall and I'm expecting you to go". She knew I hated getting corsets on and putting uncomfortable shoes on my feet, not like it really made a difference considering pretty much all shoes that a _lady_ wears are uncomfortable, but i didn't really have a choice. "It's in two weeks, so you need to come with me to get fitted for a dress". I just responded with "Yes, mother", and followed her up the stairs into the room next to her and my father's bedroom, where my mother's and my dresses were kept, along with corsets, shoes, and jewelry. It was my mothers favorite room in the house. In there my mother's tailor was waiting next to a table with different fabrics and measuring rolls. She had a parchment along with a feather and ink bottle laying next to the fabrics, on it she had written the measurements for my mother's dressed. I watched as the tailor picked up one of the measuring rolls. The tailor looked at me and said "I think we should start on your measurements", she had me stand on a stool about 9 inches tall, then she started wrapping the measurement rolls around my waist, after all the measuring was done I went to the kitchen, where Anita was making lunch, chicken and vegetables with lemonade and some kind of french pastry. I went to grab one and Anita stopped me, "Your not going to be having any of that til lunch", Anita was nice but stubborn, she was Irish and had bright red curly hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. I was actually a little jealous of her red hair so beautiful compared to my light brown hair, dull and straight. So since I couldn't have any of the french pastries I left the kitchen and went to the garden. It was my favorite place to go, you had to walk down a trail to get there, it was surrounded by a hedge and beautiful fountains at the entrance. When you go into the garden you see all these beautiful flowers and a big fountain in the middle. Including this white arch that holds a swing. I went to the swing and sat down, then I heard footsteps, so I stood up alarmed that's when a rabbit hopped out from behind a shrub and i screamed. Then I realized it was just a rabbit and relaxed, and then the rabbit ran back. Then I heard someone so I looked up,"Who's there?" but no one answered so I left fast because i started to get kind of scared, but I just convinced myself it was the gardener.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2-encounter at the creek

The next day I woke up and went to my vanity, laying on it was a little red box next to a long rectangular box, inside of them was a saphire necklace and earings. So I brushed my hair and took the jewelry to mine and my mother's dress room where I knew where she's most likely be, and she was. "Mother, what's this?" I held out the jewelry, "It's for you, for the ball", "Oh, thank you", I hugged her and saw that she was wearing the dress she had gotten measurements for yesterday. "Your wearing the dress?", "Well, I'm having tea with Mrs. Cheatau today, but you have lessons to get to", "Yes, mother", and I left. After my lessons I went to the stables to see Penny, so I got her saddle, put it on her and took her out. I gave her an apple and brushed her coat a little, then I got on her and rode her through the woods I had rode her so much down this way there was a trail. I got off her once we got to the creek and let Penny get a drink, so I sat down. I knew I really shouldn't have but it was such a hot day and the water looked so refreshing and cold. So I stripped down to my bloomers and then naked as the day I was born. I slipped my toes into the water, then the rest of my leg, then the water raised to my shoulders, the water felt so good. Thinking of times I had come here before, I knew how to swim, if mother knew she'd have a fit. I thought of what she'd say to me as I floated on my back, "No lady learns to swim, your never going to swim again, I forbid it! What would people think". I didnt let that thought bother me though, I never understood why people thought things like swimming and riding horses astride were not for women. God gave women legs just like men, why should we be excluded and looked down on for doing things like that? Why should we be burdened with the monthly courses of a woman and the ones to bare children, yet still not accepted in doing things that men do. Although I didn't think twice about doing those things, because I Victoria Marie believed women were equal to men and someday people would see that. I looked at my hands and saw that they had wrinkled and softened. So I got out of the water, when I got out I pressed the water out of my hair. I waited a few minutes before putting my clothes back on so I could air dry a little. Then after I put my bloomers on I grabbed my petticoats off of Penny's back and slipped them on. I grabbed Penny's reins and started to walk but Penny wouldn't move, "Penny?", then I heard footsteps on the other side of the creek, "Who's there?", no one answered, but I swear for a moment I saw someone, a man, and then he was gone. I wondered if he had seen me swimming, or that I had been NAKED. I just put me dress on and swung my leg over penny, then rode back to the grounds of my family manor. After putting Penny away I went inside. I went to the dress room and changed into a fresh gown and brushed my hair. A few moments later Angelique came in,"Miss, dinner is ready", so I went downstairs following Angelique, she had been my nusrse as long as I can remember. She had sandy blonde hair and gray eyes that reminded me of a cat. After dinner I went to my bedroom and sat at my vanity where my necklace and earings lay I looked in my mirror made of silver I was blessed to be born into a family with money most women around had a bronze mirror if any at all. It had been given to me as a gift when I turned 13. I looked into it and tried on my jewelry, I stared at how it made me look so elegant. As I looked in the mirror I saw that the summer sun was making my skin darker, it was just into the first week of June. I took off my jewelry and took off my dress and slipped on my night gown and got into my bed and went to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- a gift from father

About a week later my father came home, he had gone on a trip to New York. I didn't really know why though, he had never said, at least not to me and nobody else told me why, I assumed they didn't know why either. It was only about a few days later til the summer ball, I was pretty much dreading it. It's not that I didn't know how to dance, I did, but the thought of anytime I had to wear a corset made me sick, it's not that I was heavy or anything but I usually got forced into it because my mother said that it gave me curves and made me look like a woman. I was thin so I didn't have much to suck in I just hated wearing them sometimes you can hardly breathe in those things. Angelique was pretty good at not making them too tight but my mother usually like to make them tighter. "Victoria", it was my father I looked up at him, "I have something for you", remembering the jewelry my mother had gotten me not so long ago. He handed me a blue box I set it on my bed and opened it. Inside it was a jewelry box, wondering if mother had asked him to buy it for the jewelry she had gotten me. It was made of oak and had different feminine designs on it. "Thank you, father", "Your welcome", he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "your becoming a woman, it doesn't seem like very long ago you were leaving for finishing school, though you may not like or agree with all of the opinions of being a lady you are becoming a woman either way". I really didn't know what to say so I just looked at him and smiled. "Well I have some work to get to", he was usually really busy. After he left I went to my balcony outside of my room, and sat down, I liked that on summer nights I could go out there and listen to grasshoppers chirping and birds singing. 


	4. Chapter 4

chapter 4-The Ball

It was the day of the ball, I had gotten up and went to the drees room. I saw my dress laying on the back of a chair it was dark blue and sleveless with little pearls at the cut. It came yesterday, I just hadn't looked at it til now, next to it were a pair of blue shoes that matched the dress, also with tiny pearls on them. I went downstairs after that and sat at the piano, it seemed like the only thing I liked about having to act like a lady. I played the piano until Angelique came to me and said, "Miss, your bath water is ready". So I went to the bathroom and took of my dress and got in. After my bath Angeligue helped me get ready for the ball, first she put on my corset, luckily my mother wasn't in there, then my petticoats and dress. "You look lovely, Miss", "Thank you", I went and looked in the mirror my father had bought my mother on his trip, suprised at how much older corsets really made me look. "Miss, we need to plait your hair", Angelique had braided my hair earlier that day. I took a seat in the chair the dress had layed on. After she plaited my hair she pinned it up with a barette and put a jeweled barette in the front of my hair. My mother came in, she already had her dress on and her hair was up like mine, "Victoria you look like such a lady", "Thank you", looking back in her mirror wishing she hadnt said that. "Your father is almost ready, Angelique go see if the carriage is here", "Yes, mam", when Angelique left my mother looked at me and said, "You look beautiful Victoria, make sure you act like a lady tonight", then Angelique came in, "Mam, the carriage is here", "Right, take Victoria to the carriage", so I followed her. When we got to the carriage she helped me into it and waited outsied of it until my mother and father came. When we got to the ball there were men waiting at the doors, they helped me and mother out of the carriage but father refused help. When we got inside I followed mother and father to their friends. "Victoria, this is Mr. and Mrs. Cheatau", I looked at them there were kinda strange together she was very bony skinny and he was very plump, "and their son Mikael" he was also kind of strange to look compared to his parents , he was really tall and had blond hair while his parents were short with dark hair. He looked at me and grabbed my hand and kissed it wasn't really that great I didn't even hold out my hand for him. A few moments later the violinists started playing, Mikael looked at me again, "Would you like to dance?" , I just looked at my mother, "Go dance", So I looked at Mikael and said ,"yes", trying to smile. He grabbed my hand and took me to the middle of the floor. "Your a good dancer", Mikael said, "Well I had to learn it at finishing school". Then he kinda looked at me in a way that made me uncomfortable "If you don't mind me saying, your beautiful", I didn't look at him I just stared the other way, "I do". Then I looked up and there was this boy standing there he looked at Mikael, "May I cut in?" Mikael just stepped aside looking really irritated then walked off. So I held out my hand and Mikael looked over, he looked pretty jealous I think it was because I didn'nt hold out my hand for him, and the boy kissed me hand. He put his hand on my waist and took the other in his hand. He had dark black hair and dark blue eyes thst reminded me of nights when the stars and moon shine really bright. "I'm Henry", I kind of just stared at him for a minute until I realized what he said, "Uh, Im V-Victoria", "Are you okay?" he said, I felt a little embarassed, "yea". When the song was over he took her hand and kissed it again and walked away. She just stood there amazed at how perfect he was, his eyes so hypnotizing, his features unable to be compared to anyone she'd ever met. Then her mother came up to her,"Victoria, who was that", "I don't know". 


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Tap, tap. I got out of bed to see what was making the noise it sounded as if it was coming from outside. Tap, tap, there it was again it was coming from the door to the balcony it sounded like rocks.

So I went to the door and moved the curtains nothing was there. I opened the door and went out on the balcony and looked around, I didn't see anything so I figured it was just a bird.

Then I felt something breathing on my neck, I wanted to scream but I couldn't let even a whisper out. I felt like I was glued to the balcony.

"It's okay, it's just me" he grabbed my hand and turnded me around. It was Henry!

"What are you doing here!" he looked at me for a minute.

"I had to see you."

"Wh-what,Why?"

"I don't know, I feel weird, I feel sick but in a way I can't explain and it doesn't feel wrong." I was still facing the other way i just kinda turnded and looked at him.

"I feel like that too."

Then I turned towards him and he tucked the hair that was hanging in my face back behind my ear and leaned in towards me.

"Victoria, Victoria, Victoria, you have to wake up!" I opened my eyes and realized it was a dream. I moved the covers off of me and got up. I sat at my vanity thinking about the dream, it was just so real and weird. "Victoria, fresh petticoats, dress."

"Thank you , Angelique."

I slipped them on and went downstairs to the piano and played and my mother came and sat down.

"Your getting very good at the piano Victoria."

"Well I'm usually good at things I love".

"I wanted to tell you that the Cheatau's are coming over today and your going to be with us when they do."

I really wasn't thrilled at all there were just so strange and boring.

"Of course, mother."

"Well I'll let you get back to the piano".

Later that day Angelique came to me "Miss, will you come with me so we can plait your hair"  
"Yes"  
So I followed her to the dress room and she took the braids out of my hair then she pinned it up with plain barrettes.

After that I went to the kitchen and ate lunch in there. When I was done Angelique came in.

"Victoria, the Cheatau's are here," So I decided I might as well get this over with and left the kitchen "there outside playing kroket."

This should be good. There they were hitting balls with wooden rackets, it was a strange sight. Then I looked up and there he was Mikael. He grabbed my hand and kissed it, it got even more annoying everytime he did. 


End file.
